Sustainable Wedding Ideas
Fancy getting married in an eco-friendly way? There are so many ways that you can have a big day with a small carbon footprint. You don't have to compromise on style, either - there are lots of ways you can put your own beautiful stamp on your celebrations without impacting on the environment. As a bonus, you'll also save money! Read on for our top sustainable wedding ideas....
Potted plants
Rather than using loads of fresh cut flowers, which look great but have probably taken a trip on a boat to get to your wedding and will only last a day – why not use potted plants? They look great, perfect for a rustic wedding and can be given to guests or taken home to be enjoyed long after your big day. Another bonus is that they can be moved about easily between venues and locations.
Repurposed decorations
Gin, vodka or whisky fan? Whatever your tipple of choice is, save the bottles and ask relatives to do the same. Fill them with flowers and they make a great centrepiece.
Recycled wedding clothes
Wedding dresses, veils, shoes, bridesmaids dresses – they can all be bought secondhand at a fraction of the cost. These Monsoon bridesmaid dresses were bought secondhand and looked absolutely stunning.
View more photos of this sustainable wedding
You can also have family pieces reworked to suit your style, such as this veil which was originally worn by the brides mother.
Natural place cards
What could be a more sustainable wedding idea than finding natural details with which to make place cards? Leaves, feathers, driftwood and seaglass can all be collected and written on using permanent marker to create something pretty special…
Photos via Pinterest
Locally sourced food
Make sure your catering has a low carbon footprint and is locally sourced. A sustainable wedding goes hand in hand with food that comes from the local area. Do your research, ask caterers if they use local suppliers where possible and the end result will be delicious and sustainable.
Digital invites
Why not fully embrace the sustainable wedding theme with digital wedding invites? There are plenty of wedding invitation templates that can be bought cheaply online. They can be beautiful, they just don’t need to be printed out and posted (saving you loads of money!) As an extra added bonus you’ll get speedier RSVPs = less stress. Just make sure granny gets a hand-written note if she’s not online…
Photos: Etsy
Planet-friendly favours
Another sustainable wedding idea is to give guests planet-friendly favours. Packets of wildflower seeds will help the bee population and little potted plants will be a lasting memento for guests. Or what about recycling mini bottles and filling them with homemade sloe gin, or mini jam jars and filling them with some lovely homemade jam? Asking guests to donate to your favourite charities is another good option.
Photo: Etsy 
Photo: Pinterest 
Photo: Ally M Photos 
Photo: Nick Brightman
Decor
Old pallets can be re-purposed, a fallen tree can be turned into table centrepieces and jam jars can be painted and decorated to match your theme. The options really are endless and there are plenty more sustainable wedding idea on Pinterest! Feel free to pin any of these images.
Photos by Nick Brightman
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